Cave In
by lostsword
Summary: Prequel to my story, A Dragon's breath. after a race gone wrong, Astrid and her pet dragon Nad must first survive before they can heal...and bring those responsible to the viking's version of justice... HiccupxAstrid
1. Chapter 1

_Cave In_

_Chapter 1: Rise at Dawn, Be Called A Wimp_

**Finally writing it! I hope you guys enjoy this short chapter, as all my chapters normally start short, but build up. Please enjoy and let me know what you think.**

**NOTE: Most of this chapter is purely guesses and me making crap up, as far as I know anyway. I simply hope to show more on the life of Berk's most fierce hellion.**

**DISCLAIMER: I Do Not own HTTYD or any monetary products that are under it's ownership, I do own the plot line and the OC's used.**

Yawning the golden bob of hair rose from the fur sheets of the wooden framed bed. And with it rose a rather messy haired Astrid. Mumbling incoherently the blond warrior pulled the wooden come off the oak dresser near her bed, the two former objects having been lifted off a passing Roman ship when her mother had raided it back when she was young, now it was hers.

Slowly she felt the smooth and aged piece of wood as she moved it through her her golden locks before setting it down and then pulling the short bandana around her head, letting her bangs and the part of her hair that covered her eye flow over the strap of fabric before strapping on the rest of her weapons and the discarded leather armor laying around on the floor.

Dawn, Astrid mused as she saw it was still dark out. Most of the village would be asleep by now, but in her opinion, and her fathers, if you didn't rise before the sun, then you were behind the schedule of the world. For she had been taught that the sun told you it was time to work harder, not _start_ working. Or waking for that matter.

Sighing she carefully slid of her room, careful to not make a sound as she moved down the stairs and was nearly to the door before a voice spoke up. "Going somewhere?".

Astrid must have jumped high enough to touch the roof of her families small house, for the uproar of laughter coming from her father as he sat at the table, sharpening his favorite axe, seemed to point in that direction. "Sorry" he said as she glared at him, though it was a soft glare with no real harm behind it. "Didn't mean to scare you..." he said innocently, but he wasn't fooling her.

There were many things that made Sigrum Hofferson what he was, but lying and making it look convincing were not part of him. That was certain. "Uh huh..." she said with a smiling spark in her ice blue eyes as she grabbed her pack by the door. She knew he absolutely _loved_ making her jump when she wasn't paying attention.

Standing at six feet tall, maybe a bit taller, Sigrum Hofferson was a decently tall viking and was one of the more 'Active' vikings in the raids and battles that were constantly fought, both on their own soil and in foreign lands. He had dark black hair, braided at the ends. A nicely tanned skin and massive build and a love of weapons and hard training that rivaled her own. It was because of this man that she had become the weapon she was now.

Smiling, said man nodded his head as he put the axe down and started on a very nice dagger set that he normally had framed over his bed, but brought it down to sharpen and clean every so often.

"Whatever..." she said at last, giving up trying to get a rise out of him as she slung her heavy pack over her back, weighing nearly thirty pounds with all the weapons and survival gear stowed in it. "If mom asks..." she said as she stared walking out the door she had just opened.

"You went to ride dragons with Hiccup" he said casually without looking up from his task. Her mother had long since been angry at him for taking her daughter from her, putting her in dragon training and training her to be a good warrior, but she had seemed to calm down a bit after hearing of how she was seeing 'That nice Haddock boy', making her the third person to probably ever not look down on the poor guy. The scar that ran from his chin to his right temple crinkled as he grinned crookedly at her. "And how is young Hiccup? Treating my daughter well, I hope" he said.

Astrid felt her face heat up a bit. "Uh....we're fine...I-I mean we-w-I..I am fine...perfectly fine" she said, stuttering the more the grin on her father's face grew, somehow he just always managed to undue her when he talked with her about the brown haired boy.

He chuckled. "Good...now go on and get some practice in, the sun will be up in a few hours" he said, still working hard at his task.

Sighing, Astrid left her house with relief and headed over to the pin set up in the backyard. Inside was her Deadly Nadder, which she had named Nad. Both as a nickname and to honor her grandfather, Nadick the crusher, famous for his use of powerful battle hammers, having smashed dozens of men upon the battlefield, before his fall in a battle, who's name escaped her at the moment.

Nad was exactly like every other Nadder, with blue skin and yellow and orange highlights. The only difference was that he had a brown saddle strapped to his back, with small bags and clips hooked on the sides, for various purposes. She scratched the Deadly Nadder on the side of the head, and the dragon let out a appreciative growl as it lowered towards the ground, allowing the dragon rider to easily get on the saddle bag, which had taken days to get on the first time they had tried.

She smiled as Nad prepared to head for the skyline. They had come far since she had first ridden him during the battle with the Red Death only a few months ago. Before he had barely cooperated with her when Hiccup wasn't around and seemed to always try to hide his saddle and nearly set her mother on fire the first time he had entered his pin, but after months of patience and hard work, the former being something she had little to no experience in, had rewarded her with this...

Giving the dragon the barest of tugs on the saddle straps, and then Nad shot off into the air, both his rider and himself careful to keep quiet as they soared over the village, heading for a certain forest that was to the far right of the village. Astrid watched in awe as she soared above the clouds, the faintest of a shadow as the dragon glided over the sea, heading right over the water before heading down towards the ground, where there was a decent sized clearing right next to the shore of Berk. If one was to look close enough, they could see cuts and broken limbs on the trees, both old and recent. There was also a bit of a trail, suggesting that the clearing was used on a regular basis.

Landing on the ground, Nad once again lowered to the ground, allowing his master to land on the ground with minimal difficulty, a testament to Astrid's hard work with the Deadly Nadder. Once Nad had allowed her off, Astrid had reached into the bag and pulled out a handful of small axes, the size of half her forearm.

Having long since gotten used to this, Nad simply dropped to the ground near the seashore and began to groom himself as he watched Astrid start her daily practices.

Each morning was the same, or at least for the first few hours. They would wake up, fly over here and then Astrid would do physical exersise, such as push ups and climbing trees, in full armor, before she began drilling with throwing axes, knives, even a rare set of throwing stars that had been given to her by her father, who had once traveled all over the world before returning to Berk, ready to finally settle down. Once she was done with those, she began practicing with larger axes and short swords, long swords, spears, large daggers and finally a bow. After that she began to do more physical exercises. Then she returned to the trees to gather up her throwing weapons

By the time Astrid had finished, she was soaked in sweat and felt fully awake now as the sun was halfway to the top of the sky. Walking over to Nad, she pulled a large cloth from one of the bags and began to wipe the sweat from her arms, legs and hair before washing said hair in the sea, then she returned the towel to it's pouch and patted Nad on the head.

Moving in one swift motion, the second viking to ever ride a Night Fury swung herself onto Nad's saddle and patted him some more. "Ok boy, let's get to work" she then held tight to the saddle as Nad shot up into the air once again and began to fly past the trees, showing the practice Astrid had put in her dragon, as he weaved through the woods, under the tree line.

They did this for a good bit longer, working on Nad's speed and trying to strengthen their teamwork abilities, even if they were only second to Toothless and Hiccup, and that was likely to never change, but that wouldn't stop Astrid from trying to be the best.

Suddenly though, a large black form flew over her head as she had Nad try and do a triple spin before diving back towards the ground. Stopping the move in mid sequence, Astrid turned around to glare at the person responsible, only to find it was Hiccup, looking a bit awed as he floated there, Toothless staring at her too, but his emotions were as unreadable as the blabbering of Fishlegs when he saw a big feast in the great feasting hall.

Sighing she flicked some hair out of her face and smiled at him. "You couldn't have waited to talk to me before I was done?" she teased as he laughed.

"I just wanted to know if you wanted to race around the island once, but if your too tired...." he said, his teasing tone made her eyes harden.

"Ohh no you don't!" Astrid growled out. "I can race you! Any time, any place and in any shape!" she said determinedly as Nad roared his support as well.

Before he could stop it from slipping out, Hiccup said, "We'll you are in great shape" he immediately hoped he hadn't said the wrong thing again, but to his relief, Astrid seemed to be blushing.

Carefully, and with great care, Astrid guided Nad over to him so that she was within inches of his mouth. "You know something Hiccup..." she said playfully as her lips hovered over his.

Barely keeping from just crashing his lips into hers, Hiccup gulped. "What?" he asked tentatively.

She smiled fiendishly before gently kicking Nad, unseen by Hiccup since his eyes were closed, and just before she took off she called. "Your gonna lose the race!" and then she was flying up the side of the mountain.

Cursing himself for falling for the same trick once again, Hiccup held onto Toothless as the dragon blasted up after his masters' mate.

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**Like it?**

**I hope so since I worked on this thing till 2am. Anyways I will continue this, yes there is more, but you better review, or this will die * holds up flaming Molotov *. so REVIEW!**


	2. Chapter 2

_Cave In_

_Chapter 2: Sealed In_

**I have no 'Words of Wisdom' to say, so just read the fic, Lostsword out. And I hope you enjoy...**

**DISCLAIMER: I Do Not Own HTTYD or it's characters....yet.**

Flying. Most would think that doing something like that every day would grow boring quickly. But not for Astrid, it had been amazing and wonderful ever since she had first tried it with Hiccup a few months ago, yet It felt like yesterday sometimes, and sometimes it felt like it had been years.

Smiling the blond haired huntress turned her head to see Hiccup had just blasted away from her training area and was roaring over the green trees of oak and birch wood after her, the large trees showing signs of their leaves getting ready to drop off for the winter. She then turned back around and narrowly avoided a tall tree, which was more thanks to Nad turning for her, then her doing it herself.

Banking high into the air she could hear the wind whistle behind her as she shot over the treeline, aiming right for the top of the mountain that rested behind the ancient village that the inhabitants of Berk lived in. As Astrid and Nad tried to outrun the quickly gaining Night Fury and it's rider, Astrid thought of the other courses besides the one they were racing on now.

There was the Sea Course, which Hiccup had shown her, which involved flying around large pillars of stone and flying through stone arches sitting on the water, their supports going deep into the sparkling water that made the sunset that more amazing.

There was the Underground course, which was a handful of tunnels that were made by the first colony set on the island by the Vikings, hoping to find ores and the rumored dragon's vault. Which was covered in gold and treasure of the wildest imagination, though this was only a rumor, since there was no way little old Berk could have something that important.

And then there was the one they were on now, The Ravine Course. It was a single lap around the island. Starting at the village, going over the island, through the fishing ravine, followed by a sprint through the skeleton caves, where a battle had been fought by the vikings and British troops, resulting in piles of skeleton parts all over the place.

Suddenly a loud roar woke her from her day dreaming and she found that Hiccup had shot ahead of her, nearly hitting her head as he and Toothless raced her up the mountains rocky heights, almost to the top. She could feel the misty air around them as they shot higher into the sky, coming closer to the clouds as they crested the top and then sprinted across the small round peak before diving over the other side, their dragons almost equally matched as they inched farther and farther ahead of one another, trying to reach the bottom first, only Astrid's hard training had kept them next to the fast Night Fury, and she was still pretty sure the dragon took it easy when they raced.

And then with a fast, nearly bone jerking, motion the dragons righted themselves, their armored bellies breaking limbs off trees as they blasted over the forest once more, passing over a small stream, trickling it's blue water down the island's side, heading towards the sea.

They were approaching the ravine when Astrid managed to push a bit ahead of Hiccup. She took this time to give him a sultry smile before blowing him a kiss just before she banked down into the rocky ravine, a small river gushing out from a hole above it, causing the area to be a bit damp.

And as she dove down, Hiccup of course nearly fell of Toothless. For even though he was the hero of Berk and the best Dragon Tamer on the island, maybe even the world, he was still a goner to Astrid teasing him. He then managed to break from the spell and dived down after her.

The ravine had once been a fishing spot, but lately it had dropped to a low stream and the large fish that had swam up and down it's once deep depths had left, leaving only a serene spot to go to, if any viking ever felt the need to do it. It was a narrow spot, barely wide enough for them to fly a dragon in.

But it was Astrid's favorite, since it was the hardest and most thrilling to her. She was nearing the end when Hiccup started to gain on her, coming up on Nad's tail as Toothless snarled, most likely he was angry at losing the race, and was even more likely trying to fix the problem.

Astrid ignored this however and pushed Nad to his limits as she held on tight and commanded him to go faster. The Dragon then sped up, starting to breath harder, as he managed to escape the gaining Night Fury.

Immediately after, the Nadder and his rider shot out of the narrow ravine, dust shooting behind them as the flew over the shore line of Berk, the river growing smaller behind them as it curved away towards the sea.

And right behind them once again was Hiccup and Toothless, both now really flying, no longer holding back, as they gained rapidly. Kicking Nad softly, Astrid roared across the now grassy hills on the far side of the island as she headed for the side of the mountain, the Skeleton Caves.

In seconds the duo shot into the caves, with Hiccup and Toothless right behind them. Nad ducked under a low stalactite before banking around a tight turn. Sadly though, Toothless had finally caught up and was about to pass the Deadly Nadder and his rider.

Growling to herself, Astrid began pushing Nad hard. She needed to come out of here first, because the race was over if Hiccup passed her now. She kicked Nad, a bit harder, in the side, the dragon did as instructed and pushed himself to his limits, almost there..almost!

Neither racer however heard the cracking from above however, nor did they see the bits of stone falling from the roof.

Astrid could see the entrance, the light before her as she smiled. She was going to win. Just as she began to laugh in victory, she saw something dart away from the entrance and frowned, what was that? And then there was a loud rumble followed by a ear splitting crack. Then large chunks of stone crashed all around them as they raced for the entrance, the two riders and their steeds no longer racing for victory in a race, but for their very lives.

Suddenly a rock came out of no where and slammed into Nad's head, sending the great Nadder into the dirt and launching Astrid from her saddle, the leather cord connecting her to the saddle snapped with a loud pop as the huntress was flung across the air and slammed hard into the rock wall of the cave, from the blinding pain in her leg and arm, she knew they were broken. Almost immediately after, a handful of smaller stones rained down on her.

Out of the corner of her eye Astrid saw Nad crash into the ground once again and winced as a large stone crashed onto his side, the great dragon let out a howl of terrible pain and then a stone hit Astrid in the head, causing her to lose connection with the world as the blackness covered her vision and shut off her ears and touch.

Meanwhile Hiccup had just exited the Cave and shot high into the air, beliving Astrid to be right behind him. Only after he heard Nad's howl did he realize the awful truth. Flinging Toothless back around he made the Night Fury dive for the entrance, but he was too late.

A large rock slide rolled down the side of the mountain and crashed into the giant oak trees and the rest of the ground with a mighty crash, as loud as thunder as it rang out across the entire island. The entrance to the cave was now buried, twenty feet deep in stone. Hiccups heart sank as a final small stone landed on the now massive pile. His anguished cry followed immediately after.

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**Like it?**

**I am sorry for not updating A Dragon's Breath, but this week has been hectic with my tests coming up and I just decided to write this thing. Short, yes. But this fic is a _short_ story fic. I hope you all like this thing, pray that I get a chap done tomorrow and I will most likely not update on friday...**

**I ask that you leave critisizing reviews as well as funny ones, and any side plot ideas will be considered. Also, I ask again for your input on me starting a YOUTUBE for this thing...yes? No? Ideas? Send em in a review, or a message, or a review...thanks for reading and Lostsword is out!**

**C U NEXT TiME!**


	3. Chapter 3

_Cave In_

_Chapter 3: It'll Be Ok_

**Hello my awesome readers! I hope some of you guys will flock away from the now FINISHED ADB and check my profile every now and again for the side plots I plan to write. I hope you enjoyed ADB, since Cave In will most likely turn out to be a short story, instead of a two chapter plot bunny. This will even have OC's!**

**DISCALIMER: I DO NOT own HTTYD or it's characters!**

Astrid moaned as she opened her eyes and looked around, the cavern they had been racing in was now mostly dark and creepy, with a bit of light sneeking in from the wall of boulders now covering the exit. Off near the pile of rocks, Astrid could see Nad laying against the wall near it, his eyes open but the Nadder's entire body was covered in purple bruises and part of his wing was slightly ripped, not all the way through, but a bit of the wing was cut and blood was leaking from several cuts, some rather long, that were on the scaled dragons body.

Astrid managed to crawl over to her dragon, her head and body hurting like crazy as she finally made it to her dragon. "Nad...?" she asked fearfully, worried he might just die at any second.

The dragon turned his head slowly towards her and growled softly and tried to stand up, only for the dragon to collapse and groan in pain. Astrid immediately moved over to his side and began reaching for her saddle bags, which had cloths and other medical things in them, only to find it gone, the entire saddle was missing.

Astrid looked around and considered her options. Look around the rubble for the saddle while her dragon bled, or improvise. Sighing the blond puffed some hair out of her eyes. She had always been the one to improvise after all.

Astrid then began to tear the lower parts of her shirt off and use the thick fabric to close up the already bloody cuts, somehow managing to stop the blood from leaking out, but it was only temporary. She would need to get him to the village doctor. And fast.

"Hiccup!" she called. No answer. "Hiccup!!" she called again, this time louder. Unsurprisingly there was, yet again, no response. The female warrior huffed to herself and sat down next to Nad, wrapping her arms around her dragon's neck, her own body becoming incredibly sore all of the sudden. She groaned once more before Nad wrapped his good wing around her and then she faded into a mix between a horrible sleep and unconsciousness.

* * *

Astrid cursed softly once she realized she had fallen asleep. She snapped awake, though a bit groggy, and to her delight, she heard voices. They were far off and muffled, causing Astrid to wonder just how much of the mountain had been taken out by the rock slide. "Hello!" she called, and again with the no responses. She tried again. "Hello!!" and once more. "HELLO!!!" but to no avail, no one heard her. Sighing Astrid leaned against Nad, who was sleeping.

Briefly Astrid considered going back the way she had come in, but to her dismay, the other end of the cavern was sealed up by another wall of rocks as well.

Groaning at her stupid luck, the viking girl simply went back into a restless slumber.

* * *

Astrid contineud to awake and fall back asleep for some time, sometimes she heard voices and sometimes dragon roars, but none of them ever responded to her. After what seems days, Astrid heard a familiar voice that brought a joyful cry to her lips. "HICCUP!!!" she called, still laying against Nad, having lost most of her strength, battered up as well from the cave in.

She swore for a second her heart stopped when she heard a half muffled call. "HICCUP!!!!" she screamed as loud as she could. Nad joined in as well and they heard a soft roar, Toothless's roar. "They heard us!" she said in relief. She sunk against Nad, who was growing colder and colder. "Hang in there Nad" she said effectively as she rubbed his neck. "Just a bit longer..."

* * *

Hiccup sighed so explosively that he was sure his head would explode. He and Toothless sat on what had once been a decently sized forest. The rock slide had been greater then they had though, it had covered a good bit of the nearby area and had made finding the cave a thousand times harder. For nearly a full day straight they had been looking around for Astrid. And finally, they had found her. "Ok boy, lets go get the others! Hurry!" he said anxiously, worried for Astrid and Nad's safety, but the former was more important to him at the moment. "i'll get you out of there Astrid..." he whispered to himself as Toothless took off towards the direction of Berk.

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**FictionFreak? Are you reading this? If so, then im sure you of all people will know that I never make things this easy, so sit at home, clutching that security blanket of yours, for this is not over yet!**

**Thanks for reading this chapter, this is the fith friggen chapter today I have worked on, not on this fic mind you, but in total. I have written a Star Wars fic, read over FOUR more Star Wars fics, written a Overlord Chapter, finished up a Dark Order Update and now THIS and I will most likely be writing a batman fic directly after I upload this...man my day is getting hectic.**

**Review, send ideas, subscribe on youtube, check out the Q/A forum I put up and please, oh please, check out my other fics! Thanks for you time, im gonna go get a bagel....**

**C U NEXT TiME!**


	4. Chapter 4

_Cave In_

_Chapter 4: Disturbing News_

**Well I hope I didn't keep you waiting. I will be updating slower now, due to fics I am fixing up and what not, but mostly because Dark Order: The Empire Strikes Back, has just come out. For those of you that care, my Premium membership is up and running, so check my profile to see if it interests you. Also, I'm gonna give you guys a 'Friendly' heads up. May 8th will be a day to check A Dragon's Breath for any 'announcements'.**

**DISCALIMER: I DO NOT own HTTYD or it's characters**

Astrid heard them coming at last. After hours of silence, her trying to keep Nad awake and her mind telling her that Hiccup had left her to die. Astrid had just about gone crazy.

However after a near eternity, the sounds of Dragon Wing's beating powerfully could be heard. Soon after, she heard the sounds of scraping and thuds, the multiple growls of dragons began to sink down to her soon as well.

For a long time Astrid simply sat there, holding N ad's neck as she coo'ed to him softly, listening to his breathing and hoping Hiccup got to her in time. And hours later, he did.

The first boulder removed from the entrance shot a bright light down at her, nearly blinding her, Astrid covered her face with her arms, desperately trying to ward off the bright beam.

While her arms covered her head, more and more of the rocks were removed and soon enough of the stones had been moved that they could get to her.

Astrid felt a soft, yet slightly muscular, body crash into her and she realized Hiccup was holding her, then she realized she was going to make it. Hiccup was then comforting her as she silently held back tears, burying her head against his neck.

Minutes later and a small tunnel had been dug out large enough for Snoutlout and Fishlegs and Tuffnut and Ruffnut to bring their dragons down, with ropes secured to them, and then they began to slowly pull Nad up and out of the cave. Hiccup himself brought Astrid out with Toothless, being extra careful to not hurt her anymore then she already was.

By the time that daylight was fading away, the dragon riders were pulling themselves up into the air and carrying the two injured members of their small group back to Berk. The ride was mostly silent, with Astrid watching Nad in his little net. Her body close to Hiccup's with her arms around his waist as she slowly fell into the dark abyss of sleep, exhausted beyond imagination.

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**Yes, this is a very short chapter. But if you don't like it, I can just take it back.... ^^**

**I will be gone throughout most of May due to a LOT of things going on, but I WILL continue to update, as often as I can. Review and read on, for this fic is not done yet!**

**INFORMATION**

**SIDE PLOTS | OTHER ACCOUNTS /SITES | FEEBACK (wanted please!) | SIDE PROJECTS**

**-Cave In (in progress) | YOUTUBE (NOT made yet) | YOUTUBE? Y/N? **

**-Interrogation (NOT started) | BLOG (NOT made yet) | BLOG? Y/N? **

**-Feelings and Thoughts (NOT started) | Q/A Forum on FF? (fanfiction) | Q/A? Y/N? **

**FICS OF INTREST (ones I have that you may like)**

**-Avatar: The Overlord, After a terrible mistake is made, Aang and the others must fight off a powerful Zuko and save the world from Zuko's new Empire.**

**-Shadow's Dawn, can one ninja do what her master couldn't? Can she bring him back to the light, despite having been trapped in darkness for so long?**

**-Winter's Breath, When two mysterious figures enter China, a war shall rage and a old foe shall help the five and Po deal with a much more powerful threat**

**-Gotham's Shadow, When small events from the past fail to happen, Bruce Wayne will never be the same again (NEW)**

**-Dark Order: The Empire Strikes Back, The sequel to my highly sucsessful fic, Luke must now capture his Sister to regain his lost life and his undiscovered love.**

**FICS I MIGHT WRITE (this is part of FEEBACK, this means SEND FEEBACK!)**

**-The Tell's, Serina and her brothers had moved to Spring Valley for a fresh start, and oh they will get one.**

**-The Way of The Sith, for more then a thousand years the Sith have trailed off the path set down by their ancestors, Luke and Mara will find that path, and on it they will find more then they bargained for...a lot more**

**PROGRESS: FIC is at 50% completion**

**RANT TIME: REVIEW OR I WILL KILL A CHARACTER. OR DRAGON! SO REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!!!!!!!!!**

**C U NEXT TiME!**


	5. Chapter 5

_Cave In_

_Chapter 5: Disturbing Realizations_

**Ok first off, im mad at myself, because Chapter 4 was supposed to be a LOT longer, but I was too tired to realize this, and cut like two thirds of the thing off.. Also, im sorry if this is a bit messed up, but I just got back from a trip, and I am missing about 24 hours of sleep, so I am beat tired and barely able to think clearly.**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own HTTYD or it's Characters**

Astrid wearily opened her eyes and groaned softly. Her whole body ached and several parts of her body, such as her legs, arms, head and stomach seemed to be covered in a thick fabric.

Slowly she opened her eyes and found herself laying in her bed, Hiccup sitting next to her in a chair, his head drooped against his chest as he slept softly. Smiling a bit, the huntress gently eased herself up onto her elbows. "I thought I was supposed to be the exhausted one" she pouted playfully, causing the brunette before her to wake up.

"Astrid!" he exclaimed and jumped up, moving over to hug her. "Your awake!"

"Yes and your crushing me" Astrid coughed out as her battered body was squeezed by the Chief's Son in the tight, yet worried, embrace.

Hiccup blushed a deep crimson before he stood back a bit, looking uncomfortable as she laughed at him playfully. Sighing he sat back down. "Sorry" he said at last. "You've just been so quiet since you collapsed last night...and I was worried you wou..wouldn't wake up" he said, looking slightly embarrassed.

Astrid felt a bit of heat rise in her heart before bringing him closer for a good, long, passionate, kiss. The pain was worth it at the moment.

However it appeared her moment wouldn't last, for Hiccup suddenly sprang up. "Oh no!" he shouted. When he noticed her confused stare, his entire face turned red again. "Im sorry Astrid, but my father called a meeting after you were found, and you need to go as soon as you feel ready" he informed her, struggling a bit to remembered the words his father had told him to tell her.

Astrid nodded and swung out of her bed. Bad idea. The blond haired girl gasped lightly as the pain in one of her legs shot up and she nearly crashed into the ground, but Hiccup had managed to gather her into his arms before she hit the ground, putting most of the blow's force into his chest, but a bit of it was still able to hit her head and she groaned. Hiccup looked worried.

"If you do-" he wasn't even able to finish the sentence, for her slightly pale fist was already pushing his face away from hers as she struggled to her feet. Relationship or not, Astrid would be Astrid, and she would _not_ under _any_ circumstances, at least while she was emotionally fine and wasn't in any immediate danger, allow anyone to worry for her.

From day one, her father had drilled one thing into her mind and soul over all else.

To be strong, you must _walk_ strong.

Sighing against the pain, the blond beauty allowed Hiccup to offer his support down the stairs, and then up through the streets to the grand hall, though she told herself it was just because he was warm and relaxing, though that was only part of the reason.

Eventually they made it to the top of the village, were the hall was located. Passing by a pair of guards, the two teens entered the massive room to find almost all of the village gathered around the large fire ring like pit. Stoick and a few of the other older vikings were talking as the rest conversed with one another.

However once the pair had made their way into the large room, the light from the dying sun pouring into the chamber from the now open doorway as they stared at the mass of their fellow tribesman, the entire room grew quiet.

At last, Stoick spoke. "I am glad to see that the youngest of the Hofferson's is still in a fighting spirit. But I am worried that this was no mere accident" he said and the room was filled with gasps and murmuring.

Astrid herself was too shocked to speak. "My son, and his friends, discovered marks on the cliffs above the rock slide" he said dangerously. "Dragon marks." this only caused more alarm and whispering as shocked stares were directed at Hiccup, Stoick and Astrid.

"However. From what our stable master can determine..." he glanced around the room, then nodded at someone. Astrid turned around to find both Fishlegs and Snoutlout nodding back as they moved to guard the closed door, the latter scanning the crowd as well. "....is that only one dragon had left it's coop at that early in the morning...." he locked his own eyes on a pair of golden orbs. " Was that of Fenja Unn." again the gasps filled the room as looks were traded and people searched the crowd.

Astrid herself was shocked. Shocked beyond words. That someone would try to kill her...was unthinkable. But had it been an accident. Had...had it been meant for Hiccup? What all did this mean? "Fenja Unn" Stoick's thick voice rumbled. "I know you're in here, so come out." he demanded.

There was a minor shuffle, but within seconds, a figure emerged. Though not as tall or as beautiful as Astrid, Fenja Unn, adoptive daughter of Vallessa Unn, born from a unknown viking tribe, was still quiet attractive.

Long silky black hair ran to the end of her neck, her skin was a decent brownish whitish and her eyes were a uncommon golden silver. She stood nearly as tall as the slightly older Astrid, yet she cared more for having the young boys of the village trailing after her then becoming a warrior or learning any trade. As she stepped out into the light of the lanterns, Astrid growled.

"You have been convicted of attempting murder. And on a member of one of our most powerful families within the tribe" he stated and the girl didn't even flinch. "As is our custom, you and the victim must duel. The winner shall lay forth their demands for the loser. Do you both accept?" he demanded, his voice echoing across the nearly empty room.

There was immediately a twin response of "I Accept."

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

**ok, another short one. But it was at least a cliffy. But again, this chapter and the last one were supposed to be ONE chapter.**

**Im sorry if this fic is a bit off the normal calibar, or if it took to long, but I am, litterally, trying to get around 24-48 hours of sleep back into my body, so im just amazed I could actually write anything. Im stumbling around just trying to get up lol.**

**But I will most likely be better soon. Hope you enjoyed, and once again, I stress that you check ADB on the 8th of May, there will be a 'surprise' there. Possibly.**

**Yup, there is no INFORMATION or PROGRESS today, mostly because im lazy and the rest is beacause I can't find them right now. So I just have a question for you guys before I forget, so that I have something to put at the end of the day. Should I put REVIEW REPLIES up on here? Yes? No? Maybe? Reply back!**

**And yes, I am a LOT more crazy and delusional today. It bugs me more then it does you.**

**RANT TIME!!!!!:**

**REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!!!!!!! IF YOU DON'T REVIEW, NAD WILL DIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

**C U NEXT TiME!**


	6. Chapter 6

_Cave In_

_Chapter 6: The Duel_

**Man it has been a LONG time since I updated this thing. And I am sorry for that. And I have good news too! I am close to figuring out a date for the Sequel too! (for ADB, not this fic). And now I leave you with a good day and a ENJOY MY FIC OR DIE. **

**Oh and the all famous phrase of REVIEW OR DIE!**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own HTTYD or it's buy products!**

The two of them moved into the now cleared circle of space in the middle of the Feasting Hall, the fire pit behind them glowing as a backdrop for the viking duel. The two of them slowly began circling each other, neither a word or motion required for them to know that the match had started.

Fenja was eying Astrid warily as she held her fists up, though it was obvious she didn't have a very good understanding of how to fight. Her stance was too wide and her movements were a bit off, not as graceful as a warrior's movements should be.

Astrid herself was moving gracefully, her fists raised and her stance perfect. Unlike the girl before her, Astrid had trained since she could walk in the ways of the warrior and knew how to fight, and fight well. But she was at a weak spot, for she had yet to fully recover from her wounds, but if she could walk, then she should be able to fight, and so the match began.

Suddenly the raven haired girl threw herself at Astrid, yelling foolishly as she swung hard at her. Astrid side stepped the blow and moved for a kick that would have ended the duel, only for her body to protest to the movement and she was suddenly gasping in pain, just in time to catch a fist to the face on Fenja's second punch.

Astrid saw stars and spun, moving like a drunk as she tried to regain her balance, but the punch had jarred her vision and as she tried to regain her stance, a smooth leg came out of nowhere and sent her sprawling to the floor, connecting with her side.

As she hit the wooden floor of the feasting hall, she heard both several minor cracks, and a handful of gasps. Nearby, Fenja was dusting her nails against her shirt, looking bored. Growling, Astrid stood up, ignoring the pain.

When her father had first started training her in his trade, the warriors trade, Astrid had suffered broken bones daily. Her father had claimed he had learned it from a group of fighters in a country called Japan, far from Scandinavia. He told her that she would have to learn to deal with pain, and so she had worked every day, fighting and practicing the many different fighting styles and weapons her father showed her, her bones often breaking under the stress. But over time, they had broken less and less until her bones hardened up enough to take the brunt of the blow.

Yet none of that would do her any good right now, not the years of training, not the hours of toiling and fighting and proving herself, nor even the unlimited determination that she possessed. No, she would lose because she was facing a fresh opponent, one that hadn't suffered the horrible cave in and painful crash. But she was the one responsible.

Seething, Astrid ground out her pain and fear with the most powerful emotion of all. Anger. She moved forward, though she was sluggish and swaying from the unconscious pain her body was dealing with. Raising her fist she swung hard, only for the raven haired beauty to spin aside and follow back with a pained kick to the side once more, nearly sending Astrid to the ground.

Fenja, however, did not relent her attack. She pressed and pressed and pressed. Punches and kicks barely dodged, headbutts and uppercuts missing by hairs, over and over, Astrid continued to barely survive the fight.

Even if Fenja never took a large interest in fighting or anything other then how to be more admired more, she knew enough to beat Astrid while she was down, and that was just what she was doing.

Sliding back after a fist connected with her stomach, Astrid crashed into a pole that supported the roof above, the great wooden beam not bending or cracking, but it's surface and elaborate design's edges dug into her back. Fenja at last backed off, not use to fighting and using so much energy in succession.

Astrid took the brief lull in the duel to scan her opponent, as well as get air back into her over taxed lungs. Fenja, for all the advantages she possessed in the fight, seemed to want to humiliate her more then beat her. To maximize her failure and prove she was better, but in reality, she was scared. Scared of losing and of the powerful teen before her. Scared of what would happen if she lost. Yet she hid it well and Astrid barely caught it, just a bit of a tremble there, and a flash of fear there.

Suddenly Fenja snarled and ran right at Astrid. Suddenly an idea came to her. Placing herself right before the wooden pole, Astrid prepared to block the prepared blow, one that had to much momentum and energy in it for her to block in practice, but in theory, she didn't need to.

At the last second, Astrid flung herself out of the way, crashing into the floor. Yet her plan worked. Fenja crashed right into the pole and with a audible thud, she crashed to the ground, cradling her head and groaning in pain.

Astrid allowed a brief smirk to cross her face, before she stood back up and resumed her stance, waiting for the girl to make another move, her back once again to another one of the Feasting Hall's wooden poles.

Fenja rose and in a raging storm of hate, ran right at Astrid. The same thing happened as before, Astrid threw herself out of the way and Fenja crashed into the pole. This repeated ten more times, as Fenja, for all her beauty and cunning, was simple minded and didn't think her strategy through very well. Before long Fenja was standing by a pole, panting and gasping in pain.

Astrid was nearby, starting to sweat as she herself began to feel the effects of the constantly crashing into the wooden floor over and over again. Once more, she rose up and stood before her opponent, who was now preparing to charge her opponent once more, yet her plan had failed, since Astrid had run out of poles and the two had returned back to their original positions, Astrid standing ten feet before the great double doors and Fenja was standing in front of the great fire pit.

Letting out a loud yell, Fenja charged at her now defenseless opponent. Astrid did likewise, as she had nowhere to force Fenja into.

The two collided into the other, both ignoring the pain as they traded blows. Kicks and punches, slaps and hair yanking, it was a cat fight like no other and the amazed audience that had watched the duel continued to observe the fight, Stoick himself was torn between keeping the village customs and keeping Astrid alive, as it was clear she was on her last reserves, while Fenja was still relatively fresh.

Suddenly Fenja got a powerful punch in and Astrid was thrown into a empty table, some of the mead spilling to the ground, the goblets that had held the liquid crashing to the wooden floor as well with a mighty thud.

Astrid had barely managed to recover before Fenja deployed a dirt tactic. She kicked hard at Astrid's wounded leg, causing her to cry out in pain and fall to one knee, yet the girl was not done.

Reaching over, Fenja grabbed one of the wooden chairs and spun it around her form once, then slammed it hard onto Astrid's back, prompting gasps and outcries from the audience.

Astrid meanwhile was seeing thousands of tiny stars and felt something give way under the chair's single assault. She fell the floor all the way this time, her face slumping into the wooden planks as the now broken chair fell next to her.

Fenja then went in for the kill, stomping hard onto one of her hands and then twisting her boot, causing several snaps to be heard across the hall. She then bent down to face her defeated foe. "You lose. Hiccies _mine_" she said cruelly, only Astrid being able to see the evil smirk crossing her face.

Suddenly an assortment of images assaulted Astrid. Hiccup broken and emotionally destroyed, Fenja comforting him and leading him around like a dead pet. Toothless driven away by the cruel girl and Hiccup at last being left by the girl after she had gotten what she wanted from him, the status, the power and the rule of the tribe.

Snarling, Astrid grabbed for whatever was nearby, determined to _never_ let that thought become true. Her hand wrapped around a half filled goblet of mead and she immediately, without hesitation, flung the cup at Fenja, even as she sent a strong kick at her head, intent on killing her right there. The cup hit her in the face and the mead splattered all over her face and hair, causing the raven haired teen to scream in rage, her kick going wide as it hit Astrid's shoulder instead, breaking the bone.

Astrid however saw her last chance to win the fight and took it. Leaping up, she slammed her fist hard into Fenja's jaw, shattering it all the way up to her cheek bone's arch. The girl flew across the room and slammed hard into a pole that had been nearby. Astrid, still seething, walked over to her and kicked her hard in the ribs, making sure she felt the same pain she was feeling. Yet she was no barbaric brute, despite what others would say about vikings, she had a code, a warrior's code and she would honor it. And so, Astrid backed off, only enough so that Fenja wasn't being assaulted by her feet, but enough to knock her back down.

Then her vision became blurry, her legs trembled slightly, but she forced herself to remain standing. "You lose" she declared, blood leaking from several new, and several re-opened wounds as sweat slowly trickled down her face.

Fenja nodded submissively. "You win Astrid Hofferson" she said in defeat. Astrid was sure that several people in the crowd around them sighed in relief. "What are your terms" she asked.

"You leave and never return" was all she said.

"Very...Very well" she said, sounding shattered, destroyed. Good. The raven haired girl rose softly, still in obvious pain. She offered her hand to Astrid. "Let us complete the ritual, the loser and winner must shake, to honor our own honor" she said.

Astrid nodded, eying the other girl warily, yet she was to weak now to try and fight her anymore, though Astrid was also to weak as well. Tentatively Astrid reached out and shook her hand, the pole now standing beside the two girls. "Now leave" she said curtly.

Fenja smirked cruelly, and Astrid knew she had just walked into a trap. "No." she said with malice and then reached around her waist, Astrid moving to stop her from what she knew the girl was reaching for. But she had reacted to late and the room fell into silence as Fenja drew a knife, with blue gyms incrusted into it, and stabbed Astrid right in the stomach, causing her to gasp in pain. "I win" she said, spitting on Astrid's shocked face. "You and your foolish honor" she added, then twisted the knife, causing Astrid to cry out loudly in pain.

She heard the heavy steps of half the room moving to stop the viking teen from killing the blond haired huntress, however Astrid had saved herself already. "You...are the fool" she said through the massive pain. Fenja just smirked. "You...never watched....your surroundings...." she spat, then reached up, Fenja following her arm curiously. Her eyes widened when she saw her foe grab the candle bolted into the wood.

Astrid only smirked painfully at the shocked face of Fenja, who was now pleading for Astrid to not do what she knew was about to happen. "You lose" was all she said, before breaking the candle and stabbing Fenja in the eye, igniting the mead that was covering her face and hair.

Instantly Fenja let go of the blade and howled in pain, sounding like a inhuman sea monster. She clawed at her hair and eyes, desperately trying to reach the candle that was stuck in her eye, having gone _through_ the pupil. Still screaming loudly, she ran out of the room, bursting out of the Feasting Hall doors and running down the rain slicked steps, the clouds outside booming as thunder roared and rain cascaded down on the village of Berk.

Astrid watched her run crazily down the stairs and out of sight before giving a mini bow, which was half clumsy, before Stoick, who was watching in shock. Then the darkness took her and she crashed into the ground. Dozens of voices calling out to her as the blade, still stuck in her stomach, was driven even deeper into her.


	7. Chapter 7

_Cave In_

_Chapter 7:_

**A/N: I'm sorry for the delay, I have been on Va Ca for the past week, and had sad connection, so I could not upload. I also was busy with friends and stuff for the past few days, so now things are calming down. I also plan to write the Tavern story after this one. BTW, yup, BAD NEWS: I will be VERY inac for the next few weeks. Due to the fact that I have to go to a summer camp for a week, get home, shower, go to a different camp for ANOTHER week, then get home, no shower, and head off for a week long camping trip. So I am very busy, as you can see. But I will make it up to you guys! Beacause after that, there should be no real major events going on, as far as I know anyways.**

**Yes my life Is hectic. On to the STORY!**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HTTYD OR IT'S PRODUCTS!**

Astrid groaned and cracked her eyes open, to find herself once again in her room. Only this time, she was alone. The room was completely empty other then it's single occupant, who was wondering where everyone was and if she had just been dreaming. The second she tried to sit up, proved it had not.

Fire exploded from her stomach, above the other explosions all over her body. Gasping she crashed back into bed, gritting her teeth and screwing her eyes shut as she tried to keep conscious. That had been a _very_ bad idea.

Waiting until her mind numbing pain wave had subsided, Astrid slowly sat up, moving inch by inch, but she got there. She then clenched her jaw and then stood up off her bed.

The pain was enormous. She crashed into the wall, but Astrid being Astrid, would not allow pain to control her. Fighting against the pain, she managed to stand, a bit shakily, but standing none the less.

Grinning slightly, Astrid moved slowly towards her door, planning to see where her parents were. For that matter, where everyone was. She was a bit disappointed to find Hiccup wasn't in her room, like he had been last time...

Slowly, she made her way across the wooden floor and reached her aged door. Her home was special, or as special as it could be in viking terms. It was special because it had _never_ been destroyed, and thus, it was one of the oldest buildings on the island. The house of course sported burn marks and claw marks, the scars of those that had tired, and failed, to bring the Hofferson home down.

And because of all of this, her door was a bit creaky and splintery, she would need to replace it once she could actually move, even she wasn't so fooled by her own might to believe she was fine, but she refused to be stuck in a bed until she had learned what had happened.

Moving like a slug, Astrid entered the hall outside her room, to her left, at the end of the hall, was her parents room, to her right, at the other end, was the stair case that led down stairs. Before her, were two doors, both about a foot or two away from her own, and on the other side of the hall.

One belonged to her five year old sister, Kara, who had blond and brown streaked hair, with gray eyes like her father. The girl was still too young to be put in Dragon training, but her father was still giving her 'Basic' training lessons, with Astrid's help. 'Basic' was Sigrum's term for a hundred push ups, jumping jacks, kicks and punches, along with training with various weapons and hand to hand defense, with no breaks. There was a reason why the Hofferson's were not considered weak, of course her mother was the exception.

And the other door belonged to her ten year old brother, who was almost ready to begin dragon training, named Hagal, he had black hair, like her mother, with the same gray eyes as his younger sister. He was a more active in the 'Hofferson training' pushing himself to nearly Astrid's level. But the problem was that he liked dragons more then fighting, and once he had passed Dragon Training, he would get his own dragon, something that had pushed him even more to become the best.

Smiling at the thought of her younger siblings, Astrid continued on down the hall, wondering if her siblings were even awake. Deciding to let them sleep, she was mostly fine after all, Astrid descended the stairs, though it was a bit of a hassel, with pain racking her body every step. But all this caused Astrid to do, was raise her chin high and grit her teeth.

Within a few minutes, she reached the bottom of the stairs and began searching the kitchen. Their were signs of a meal having been made, most likely her parents had left for some errand, or something. Glancing around, she moved off to check the main room, where she found a few dying embers in the furnace, indicating a fire had been burning here recently Meaning someone must have been in the house in the last few hours. Deciding to check out their backyard, Astrid finally found purchase.

Before her, Hiccup, with Toothless curled up nearby, was tending to a wounded Nad, going over to the stream near her home and filling a bucket with it's cold water. He then began cleaning Nad's cuts and tears, which looked almost healed, with protective scabs starting to form already over the exposed flesh.

Suddenly Toothless's eyes snapped open and he roared, then flew at Astrid, nearly crashing into her as he wrapped around her. Somehow managing to softly hug her, despite the coat of black armory scales on his body, covering him from head, or horn, to tail.

Hiccup turned around and grinned, though a bit of surprise and worry filtered in. he then hurried over, with a limping Nad in toe, though the Deadly Nadder was moving slowly, yet still with a strong stride, despite his wounds.

Toothless backed off so his master could hug his mate, but he was careful to keep a protective eye on Astrid. Being one of the more intelligent dragons, Toothless knew that the girl was badly wounded and figured that she might collapse of her wounds, yet she seemed to posses the strength only dragons could call upon, going on while her body seemed badly damaged.

"You should be in-" Hiccup never finished his sentence, for Astrid had socked him right in the face with her good hand, the other hanging limp at her side.

She glared at him. "If you so much as order me to go back upstairs, after all the trouble I went through to get down here, then I will _feed_ you to my dragon" she snarled, her voice promising utter, utter pain. Then her face softened. "Now shut up and kiss me" she then pulled him to her and gave the startled boy a good kiss on the mouth. She was just so glad that Fenja hadn't stolen him, hadn't hurt him. Speaking of which...

"Where is she?" Astrid asked, her voice cold.

Hiccup, being no idiot, and even a idiot would no who she was talking about, answered. "She's dead Astrid. She died last night, right on the beach, about a foot or two form water, her entire head and some of her neck and shoulders had been burned badly, all that was left was bits of muscle and bone" he explained, watching as the girl in his arms relaxed a great deal and allowed herself to be held. "Tuffnut and Snoutlout had been on her tail as soon as you were being checked on by the healer, said she had just finished screaming by the time they found her" he added, seeing a small, grim, victorious smile cross her lips.

"I..I was worried she would steal you" Astrid said softly.

"We'll im still here, still with you" Hiccup said just as softly.

"And you better...better stay that way" Astrid said, tears starting to form, she was just glad this nightmare was over, that no one was coming after her anymore and that her dragon was safe, that _Hiccup_ was safe. "And don't you dare tell anybody about this" she warned, a fist raised in his head's general direction.

Hiccup grinned. "Wouldn't-" again she cut him off, but this time it was with a kiss, instead of a fist.

/

**Well, only one..no, I think two, chapters left. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and with a bit more insight on Astrid's life.**

**INFORMATION**

**SIDE PLOTS | OTHER ACCOUNTS /SITES | FEEBACK (wanted please!) | SIDE PROJECTS**

**-Cave In (in progress) | YOUTUBE (NOT made yet) | YOUTUBE? Y/N? **

**-Interrogation (NOT started) | BLOG (NOT made yet) | BLOG? Y/N? **

**-Feelings and Thoughts (NOT started) | Q/A Forum on FF? (fanfiction) | Q/A? Y/N? **

**FICS OF INTREST (ones I have that you may like)**

**-Avatar: The Overlord, After a terrible mistake is made, Aang and the others must fight off a powerful Zuko and save the world from Zuko's new Empire.**

**-Shadow's Dawn, can one ninja do what her master couldn't? Can she bring him back to the light, despite having been trapped in darkness for so long?**

**-Winter's Breath, When two mysterious figures enter China, a war shall rage and a old foe shall help the five and Po deal with a much more powerful threat**

**-Gotham's Shadow, When small events from the past fail to happen, Bruce Wayne will never be the same again (NEW)**

**FICS I MIGHT WRITE (this is part of FEEBACK, this means SEND FEEBACK!)**

**-The Tell's, Serina and her brothers had moved to Spring Valley for a fresh start, and oh they will get one.**

**-The Way of The Sith, for more then a thousand years the Sith have trailed off the path set down by their ancestors, Luke and Mara will find that path, and on it they will find more then they bargained for...a lot more**

**PROGRESS: 70% complete.**

**RANT TIME: REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! OR I WILL SICK MY KILLER IGUANA'S ON YOU!**

**C U NEXT TiME!**


	8. Chapter 8

_Cave In_

_Chapter 8: Epilogue_

**A/N: *Sniff * *Sniff * Sadly, this is the...LAST CHAPTER! WAAAAAAAAAAAAA! :( however do not fret, for there are several mini stories I have written, so if you still like my HTTYD work, then go and check it out on my profile. Also, thank you for your reviews.**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HTTYD OR IT'S CHARACTERS AND/OR PRODUCTS...YET...BUT SOON...NOT REALLY...SADLY...I'll SHUT UP NOW...DID YOU KNO-**

**Bob the Gecko: JUST START THE CHAPTER ALREADY!**

Astrid stood in the middle of her backyard, observing a sleeping Nad. It had been a full week since her duel with Fenja in the Feasting Hall. It had been a full week of rest and relaxation for her and her dragon. During that period of time, her wounds had mostly healed, now only her stomach hurt a bit. Nad however was a different story. He had been badly damaged in the cave in, and despite the constant bed rest and healer's best efforts, he would be out of action for another month or so.

Astrid watched her pet sleep a bit longer then began her normal training exercises. She wasn't allowed to do 'Advanced Exercises' because of Hiccup. She had only been practicing with her throwing weapons, when Hiccup had arrived and freaked. So now all she did were her stretching exercises.

As she did her exercises, Astrid thought of all that had happened recently. She and Hiccup had bonded more, they had even gone and watched a game of footracing among the younger children, Astrid had cheered for her younger sister a bit, Hiccup had thrown in his support as well, that had been a good day.

And they had played _Tablut_ a lot too. Since Hiccup wouldn't allow her to move that much, for worry of reopening her various wounds, like she had done the first day after the duel. The game was a version of Hnefatafl, and was a bit more fun to play.

"Day dreaming?" a voice said from behind, and she swore she heard a chuckle. Turning around, stopping her exercises, Astrid nodded. "About me, hopefully?" he asked. Astrid just rolled her eyes at Hiccup.

"Yes, you caught me" Astrid gave a mock gasp. "I have unavoidable lust for Snoutlout and Tuffnut" she said sarcastically, a fake lovey duddy smile on her face.

"Well I better fix that" Hiccup said and jumped over her aged fence and she willingly went to him. After a few minutes, Hiccup broke away and started leading her away.

"Where are we going?" Astrid asked.

"My father's making an announcement" Hiccup said with a grin and the two of them made their way towards the feasting hall, along with all the other villagers. Soon they entered the massive room and found Stoick, Sigrum, Spitelout and Gobber were standing in the back, by the fire ring, ready to speak once the doors were shut.

After about ten minutes of waiting, Tuffnut and Snoutlout broke off from the crowd and sealed the doors after the last of the vikings had been packed into the room.

"My friends" Stoick said. "My fellow vikings. Today I announce to you, that my son and his friends, having shown their skills on the field and their will to tame and ride a dragon, have been given their first task by the village" he said and all eyes slowly turned to one of the Riders of Berk. "They, to better help protect our village and show their worth as warriors...will train the next group of riders!" he said and several people cheered as the rest clapped in approval, the Riders were then allowed to move forward to stand before their chief. "But before you take upon the task of training those how to ride dragon you will get a short break. Gobber will escort you all and your dragons to the island of Tarkus" he said. "Enjoy your time there, for you won't have much of it when you return!" he said with a chuckle and as the overjoyed parents and villagers and riders began filing out of the feasting hall and heading towards their homes to get ready.

"I hope this plan of yours works Hiccup" Stoick said as he shut the door, leaving just the two of them inside to talk.

Hiccup nodded. "It will work" he said. Then quietly, just to himself he whispered. "At least...i hope it does."

**/**/**/**

**Well there is the end of the prequel fic. I hope you enjoyed and please leave a review. If you enjoy my work, then look up my profile and see if you like anything else there. The Tavern story is next on my work list, just so you know and if you enjoy star wars, check out my Dark Order fic. **

**Well im done with my shameless use of this fic to raise my views, C U NEXT TiME!**


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